Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

Summary

One way to back up your iTunes Library is to consolidate your library into one folder and then copy that folder to an external hard drive. This is a painless process that only takes a few moments to accomplish.

Note: If you would prefer to back up your iTunes Library by burning your library to CD or DVD click here.

Make sure the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is selected.

Click OK. Note: After you click OK, iTunes copies any music files that weren’t in the iTunes Music folder, and places the copies in the folder. The original files are left in their original locations. To save space on your hard disk, you might want to delete the original files.

Choose File > Library > Organize Library.

Select the option to "Consolidate files." Note: If you recently updated to iTunes 9, you might want to consider selecting the option to "Upgrade to iTunes Media organization." This updates the file organization of your iTunes Music folder.

Click OK.

Step 2: Copy iTunes folder to your external hard drive

To copy all the items in your iTunes library (including the iTunes Library file that holds all your playlists, playcounts, ratings, and other data) to your external hard drive, follow these steps: